Durham Glaster
Durham Glaster (デュラム グラスター Dyuramu Gurasutā) was an Apostle of the Star. His overconfidence lead him to set out to defeat the primary protagonist, Train Heartnet, in order to claim the title of the world's strongest gunfighter. Unfortunately for him, he was no match for Train in spite of his immense power and Creed killed him to punish his arrogance and insubordination. Appearance Durham has a typical western cowboy appearance, complete with a tan, high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat, a tan jacket, and a red ascot. what makes him unique is the mask that obstructs his mouth and nose, which extends out like a bird beak with sharp, canine teeth that protrude from the upper half of the jaw. This mask is destroyed in his fight with Train in the manga. His face is revealed to have very sharp features with hawk-like eyes, a thin nose, etc. Personality Durham was once a dangerous criminal, possibly a serial killer, or more likely, a mass murderer. He has a strong thirst for blood and violence, and the very bad habit of following his deranged impulses. When he wants to hurt someone he does it without second thought, not even understanding those who ask him why he does it. To put it simply, he is a pure barbarian and a sadistic murderer who kills as naturally as he breathes, even more than Creed himself. He obviously joined the Apostles of the Star so that he would be able to kill and hurt as many people as he wants. Durham is also very conceited and slowly but surely came to overestimate his abilities and ignore his limits, which would ultimately lead to his downfall. History His past remains largely obscure. He was most likely a lethal criminal, possibly a serial killer, or a mass murderer. At some point, he was approached by Creed, and joined the Apostles after acquiring his Tao. Plot Manga Summary Durham is first seen when Creed gathers all the Apostles of the Star on Clarken Island before launching a high-scale terrorist attack on the World Conference in Sangeles City. Before the attack, Durham asks Creed if they really can kill everyone, prompting Creed to remark on how bloodthirsty he really is. During the slaughter, Durham is the first to enter the protected perimeter. He kills all the policemen and soldiers who had been ordered to guard the area and attempted to keep him out. Shortly after, Durham began to venture out on his own without informing any of the other Apostles, prompting them to go searching for him. The cause of these trips was Durham learning about the main protagonist of the series, Train Heartnet, hailed as the world's strongest gunman and known worldwide as the Black Cat. Durham took offense this, as he considers himself to be the most powerful gunfighter. Because of this, Durham sets out to find Train and defeat him to prove his superiority. Durham heads to the (unnamed) town where Train, Sven and Eve have their main hideout and goes to the Cait Sith, a restaurant owned by their friend Annette Pias. Durham enters the Cait Sith, asking to see Train Heartnet. Immediately wary, Annette pretends not to know him, so Durham turns to violence to get the information he wants. Before causing her serious harm, Durham notices her computer and uses her database to find Train's address. He storms into their hideout to find Eve by herself, as Train and Sven left, ironically going to Cafe Cait Sith. Durham introduces himself as the "Tao gunman" and, realizing that Train isn't there, decides to attract his attention by killing Eve. Eve tries to fight back with her transformation abilities, but Durham prevents her from doing so. Eve was created and raised by Torneo Rudman, one of the sponsors of the Apostles, so Durham knew about her power. When Train and Sven return to the hideout, they find Eve barely alive with a message written in her blood on the wall, telling him to meet Durham in the Les Ses Leura Forest on the western edge of the city if he wanted to avenge Eve. Enraged, Train goes to the meeting place and he and Durham engage in a tremendous fight. Despite having fighting abilities on par with that of a Chronos Number, Durham is no match for Train, who quickly manages to immobilize him. Durham then uses the cannon concealed in his mask to fire a tremendous attack, injuring Train which forces him to release Durham. However, the Black Cat ultimately destroys Durham's revolver with an exploding bullet, and punches him in the face so hard that he knocks Durham unconscious, destroying his mask in the process. After his defeat, Durham returns to the Apostles of the Star's hideout. Shiki asks him where he has been, but Durham angrily refuses to answer and tells Shiki he goes wherever he wants, whenever he wants. When Creed asks for an explanation, Durham complies and tells his leader he had gone to fight Train. Creed states that Train is the only person that he truly respects. When Durham claims that he only lose because he had been careless and that he will win during his next challenge, an aggravated Creed murders him without warning, to punish his delusions and his disobedience. Anime Summary Durham is calmer and less barbaric than his manga counterpart, as he is never seen beating people up (though it is possible he does off-screen) and simply threatens instead of using "sacrifices." He is also far weaker than his manga counterpart, as his power only serves to create regular bullets from his gun. These bullets are still stronger than normal ones, however, and he still can fire them without fear of running out of ammunition, as they are made of ki. Still, they have nothing in common with the devastating blasts of ki he is able to use in the manga. It must be noted that he can control the bullet's trajectory, but that still doesn't make him half as dangerous as he is in the manga. Durham is seen among the other Apostles of the Star who witness Creed Diskenth and Train Heartnet's confrontation after the attack on the World Conference. He tries to shoot Train but Sven Vollfied takes the bullet himself. Shortly after, he sets out to find and to defeat Train, like he does in the manga, since he couldn't stand what Creed told him about the gap in power between Train and himself. However, as he is looking for the Black Cat, he his mistakenly led to Woodney, a fat and "nerdy" man who is (poorly) impersonating the Black Cat to gain profit from his reputation. (These two situations are completely different ones in the manga.) Since Eve saved Woodney from three thugs that wanted to duel the Black Cat (making it look like he defeated them) he takes her to a bakery. Durham storms into the bakery and recognizes Eve, whom he saw at the World Conference, demanding to see the Black Cat, and Woodney puts himself between the cowboy-looking gunman and the girl. Train ultimately comes by and Durham attacks him. Durham is effortlessly taken down, and Train demands to know where Creed is since he still wants to kill him. Train, Sven, Eve, Rinslet Walker, and Woodney bind Durham and drag him along with them so that he would lead them to the ancient castle the Apostles of the Star were using as a hideout. When Train goes ahead on his own, Sven violently questions Durham to learn the castle's location. They abandon Durham and Woodney on the road. After his defeat, Durham returns to the Apostles of the Star's hideout and Shiki asks him where he has been. He stubbornly tells Shiki to mind his own business. When Creed asks for an explanation, Durham complies and Creed states that Train is on an entirely different level from Durham. When Durham exclaims that he only lost because he didn't paid enough attention and that he will win in his next challenge, an aggravated Creed murders him without warning, to punish his delusions and his disobedience. This causes Charden and Kyoko to defect from the Apostles because while they didn't necessarily like Durham, they didn't believe he had to die. This made them realize that Creed only saw them as a means to an end. Equipment and Abilities Shot: Durham's power of Tao reflects his murderous and violent nature. His ability enables him to channel his ki into his revolver and fire powerful blasts of pure ki. Durham needs a gun or a cannon of some sort to use his power, and he can fire countless projectiles with nearly unlimited ammunition. Durham can either concentrate his power to fire a huge and devastating blast of ki or firing many balls, or stronger beams of ki in rapid succession. He is also a highly skilled marksman and gunfighter with excellent reflexes, speed, and fighting skills. Moreover, should he lose his gun, he has a special cannon hidden in the "mouth" of his mask, which enables him to fire huge and powerful streams of ki. Relationships Train Heartnet Durham did not see anything special in Train, and didn't understand why Creed was bent on having the assassin-turned-sweeper among their ranks. He provoked Train to fight him, by attacking Eve, unaware that he had pushed the fomer number's buttons. Durham was so overconfident, that he underestimated his opponent, and was apprehended. He was humiliated by this defeat, but maintained his arrogant belief about him being a better gunman. Trivia *He was the first Apostle to die. References Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Supporting Characters Category:Apostle Category:Tao User Category:Marksman Category:Criminals Category:Deceased